Reptile & Amphibian Forums

could anything be wrong if my cham has diarrhea??he seems to be in good health and everything but has had diarrhea the last 2 days..i am just making sure everything is good..thanks for the help you all have given soo far..
jon

Hey jon,

What do you mean by diarrhea? Is it more frequent? very watery? does it have some substance to it?

what is he eating? Have you switched anything in his diet? I know that when fed silkworms the poop tends to be more runny. do his urates look good - white to cream? that can tip you off to hydration trouble.

Feel free to post a pic if you feel it's necessary - we have all swapped poop pics at some point!
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

hey,thanks for the reply..what i mean by diarrhea is that its not solid like it normally is,it looks like he might of had to poop twice when he did..instead of one solid poop.runny would be a good word to describe it..no changes in his diet though,he is eatting bigger crickets now,thats about it..hes been drinking more water now then i've ever seen him drink before..he just puts his head up in the air and opens his mouth alittle bit and i'll pour warm water in his mouth and he'll drink insane amounts of water now..he loves it!!i kinda found out plastic syringes are the best method of watering for my lil guy..especially during winter because i got the humidifier going soo i won't have to mist the leaves as much and focus more on getting him the water..everything else seems normal about him besides his poop..hope its nothing,but wanna be sure..
thanks again
jon

the excess water could make it less firm. I am in NH and Cyrus sits with his head under the dripper for 20-30 minutes at a time a couple times a day. He also gets a shower every few days and humidifier run often. Sometimes he sits in the fog. I have his cage in an open "closet" with shower curtain on three sides to help. But he loves his jungle gym and cruise around a lot so I have to make sure he gets his fluids!

I haven't been on the forums much lately and don't; know some of the newer people - what species do you have and how old is he?

Oh, btw, Cyrus has learned to drink from a rodent dripper bottle - on occasion, anyway

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

hey,my lil guy is a panther nosy be cham.hes about 5 months old..lately hes been letting me rub his throat and his stomach and doesn't seem to mind it..he may even like it,which would be uncommon from what i've heard..hes my first reptile i've had..i got him when he was 1.5-2 months old..he was soo tiny..he seems to be very tame compaired to most chams i've heard about(also the people at chameleonsonly told me this too,which is where i got him from),they've helped me out soo much..do chams ever just pee??for some reason he always wants to grab my nose..silly guy..soo you think nothing should be wrong,he prob. is just drinking alot??thanks for the help..heres a link for pics..tell me what ya think about em..
jon
the man!!!

You said..."he just puts his head up in the air and opens his mouth a little bit and i'll pour warm water in his mouth and he'll drink insane amounts of water now"...when a chameleon puts its head up in the air like that when its been drinking its trying to deal with the water it already drank. Its not up in the air waiting to drink more. I wouldn't advise you to pour water into its mouth anyway....easing a little in at a time is okay. If the chameleon's opening to the lungs isn't closed when its drinking you will fill its lungs up with water...and that can cause a lot of problems.

hey,just got that new message,when he puts his head up in the air like that,he tries to get as close to the syringe as possible and if i hold it low enough he'll start licking it..he will even stretch his neck out to get closer..when he does this,i can tell he is more thirsty then normally(by the way he looks.)i have seen him do what you are talking about though..do you think i am doing something wrong still??because if he is tring to breathe when he puts his head up like that,id stop doing that..thanks for the info..
jon

You said..."when he puts his head up in the air like that,he tries to get as close to the syringe as possible and if i hold it low enough he'll start licking it..he will even stretch his neck out to get closer..when he does this,i can tell he is more thirsty then normally(by the way he looks.)"...if he's trying to drink then there is no problem with giving him the water....just don't give it to him too fast. I just didn't want to see you "drown" him by filling up his lungs.

You said..."i have seen him do what you are talking about though..do you think i am doing something wrong still??"...from what you descibe, I don't think you are doing anything wrong. Like I said, I was just concerned that he had had enough...but he sounds like he wants to drink.

hey,thanks for the concern..trust me,i love my lil man alot and don't ever want anything bad to happen to him..i put more time than i prob. should into tring to make him as happy as possible i wanted him more then anything when i got him..i had a choice between a system in my car or a chameleon,and i definitly made the right choice by getting him..hes my favorite pet i've ever owned(i love my dogs just as much as him though)..but i do appreciate your concern for him,i don't want him to drown or get hurt in any way..never thought my first reptile experience could be this awesome..i never thought any reptile could be really smart,but my lil guy has changed my mind completely.he is the most unique animal i've ever seen or heard about..it seems like he gives me signals when he wants something..which is really cool i think..CHAMELEONS ARE THE BEST REPTILE,HANDS DOWN!!!
jon

oh-oh...you've definitely got "the fever"....chameleon keeping is a little like eating potato chips...one is never enough!

hahaha,yeah,they definitly are really addicting..1 isn't enough,but thats all i'd be able to have right now but since thats all i could have,i wouldn't want any other one then the one i have now..did ya ever get a chance to look at the pics??how do ya think he looks??i can't wait till he starts to get his colors,which always gives me something to look forward to with him..i'm really glad i got him as a baby,even though i can't wait to see him full grown..also,would you suggest me feeding him mealworms??thats one thing i never got around to feeding him because of all the controversy over them being able to eat through his stomach and stuff,which i found out isn't true and is just a myth..not sure how he would react to them,would ya say its worth tring??thanks for the replies..
jon

You said..."did ya ever get a chance to look at the pics??"...can you send me the link please?

You asked..."would you suggest me feeding him mealworms??thats one thing i never got around to feeding him because of all the controversy over them being able to eat through his stomach and stuff,which i found out isn't true and is just a myth..not sure how he would react to them,would ya say its worth tring??"...I have never used mealworms with my chameleons...no real reason...so I can't give you an answer on that.